This answer, though so indefinite, greatly disturbed Craftall, and confirmed him in the impression he had conceived, that the persons calling themselves the servants of the Lord were what he considered the Lord’s enemies, and, in short, were no other than the persecutors. But, whatever they might be, one thing he was assured of, and that was, that it would be highly injudicious to give them any offence; and, consequently, he determined to admit them on the instant.
“I am not worthy that ye should come under my roof,” he cried; “yet a good man, one worthy Master Chatter, cometh hither oft, and telleth me glad tidings of Israel.”
With these conciliatory words, he drew open the door, when, to his amazement, the servants of the Lord who entered were, not the persons whom he had expected, but the servants of his partner Shedlock.
Abigail and Zedekiah, without pausing at the door, pushed past him to the light, and there turned to salute him. Before they could carry their purpose into effect, however, Craftall, recovering from his surprise, ventured to inquire their business.
“What seek ye here?” he demanded.
“They be both departed,” answered Abigail. “The crowner’s quest sat this morning, and, by their law, he’s a fellow at sea.”
“The burying, forsooth, will be at night,” observed Zedekiah, turning up the whites of his eyes. “Verily, a goodly sight!”
“Whom speak ye of, ye fools?” cried Craftall, enraged.
There lay the mystery. They were, indeed, willing to disclose the items thereof, but who those items referred to was not to be elicited so easily. Craftall, however, seeing that something singular had happened, persevered in his inquiries; and, in the end, learned from Abigail, who was the more communicative of the two, that both Dame Shedlock and her husband had ceased to exist.
The tidings were melancholy, and, by his own account, grieved him exceedingly, but they were not without consolatory points. If, by the death of Shedlock, he had been bereaved of a dear friend, his mental loss might still turn to his personal profit, and he might augment his fortune with that friend’s possessions. Shedlock, he knew, had left no heir; and, by a little management, which no one would ever inquire into, he might seize on his property, and appear to succeed to it by a lawful right and title.